VSR: Burnett Named Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Women’s swimmer Rachael Burnett has been named West Virginia University’s Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance in WVU’s double dual meet with Cincinnati and Villanova last Saturday afternoon.

Burnett started her dominance with a convincing three-second win in the 200 free (1:49.90), while taking first in the 500 free (4:54.77) and 400 IM (4:23.17). She finished her afternoon as a member of the 400 free relay team that finished second and had the fastest split time of 50.76.

This Week in Women’s BasketballThe West Virginia women’s basketball team will face St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 and North Carolina Central on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. Both games will be played at the WVU Coliseum.

Last Week in Women’s BasketballThe Mountaineers defeated Youngstown State 69-37 in the 2011-12 season opener. Sophomore Taylor Palmer paved the way to victory with a career-high 33 points, including a career-best eight 3-pointers, which broke the WVU record for most threes in a game by a sophomore, which was set by Christie Lambert against Syracuse with seven in 1997.

Notes & QuotesThe 2011-12 Mountaineers are a young team with four freshmen and seven returning players, including only one starter from last season and one senior … WVU shot 41.8 percent in its season opener, while limiting Youngstown State to only 19.6 percent shooting … 10 of 11 players on the roster played in the season opener; Linda Stepney was the only one not to appear as she is out with a stress fracture … Ayana Dunning, Christal Caldwell, Taylor Palmer and Brooke Hampton all joined sole starter from last season Asya Bussie in the starting lineup.

This Week in Cross CountryThe No. 13 Mountaineers have the week off from competition, but compete next Monday, Nov. 21, at the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. ... the women’s 6k race is slated to begin at approximately 12:58 p.m. ET ... the championship can be viewed via live streaming provided by ncaa.com.

Last Week in Cross CountryThe team came in third place at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional as five athletes were named all-region by way of their top-25 finishes at the 6k race ... redshirt senior Kate Harrison led the way with a fifth-place finish in 21:38, while juniors Katie Gillespie and Sarah-Anne Brault finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively ... redshirt seniors Ahna Lewis (19th) and Kaylyn Christopher (25th) also earned all-region ... redshirt junior Stephanie Aldea also competed at the regional, finishing in 66th in 23:46.

Notes & QuotesThe Mountaineers learned Sunday evening that they earned sufficient points to qualify as an at-large participant at the NCAA Championship ... as only the top two regional teams are guaranteed a spot at nationals, the Mountaineers’ strong third-place mark at the regional, coupled with a solid fourth-place finish at the difficult BIG EAST race two weeks ago, earned the team the at-large bid ... Harrison, Gillespie and Brault have led the team in finishes in three consecutive races ... the USTFCCCA national rankings will be released tomorrow ... the Mountaineers seek their fourth Top 10 national finish in five years this season ... redshirt seniors Harrison, Lewis and Christopher have been members of those Top-10 national squads.

This Week in RifleThe No. 3 Mountaineers (6-0, 4-0 GARC) have concluded their fall season ... WVU returns to action on Jan. 14 when it plays host to Akron at the WVU Rifle Range.

Last Week in RifleWVU trumped No. 5 Ole Miss, 4671-4646, on Nov. 12 at the WVU Rifle Range ... the Mountaineers fell in air rifle (2349-2348), but won smallbore (2323-2297) .... junior Petra Zublasing finished first overall (1190) in air rifle (598) and smallbore (592) ... the Rebels’ Melissa Quartarone finished in second place (1172), while WVU senior Justin Pentz placed third (1168).

Notes & QuotesPentz placed second in air rifle (589) and third in smallbore (583) ... the Mountaineers improved to 7-3 overall against the Rebels ... although the Mountaineers will not compete again as a team until January, several student-athletes will compete in national competitions and Olympic trials over the next two months.

This Week in RowingThe Mountaineers are idle until the start of the spring racing season.

Last Week in RowingThe West Virginia University rowing team traveled to Philadelphia to compete at the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. … the team won three medals as the doubles ‘A’ crew of Rachelle Purych and Karen Verwey placed first in flight one with a time of 7:59.39 ... the women’s open four ‘A’ crew of Hilary Meale, Verwey, Courtney Schrand, Purych and coxswain Sarah Cartwright placed first in flight two with a time of 7:50.05, and the women’s open four ‘B’ crew of Kelly Kramer, Jenelle Spencer, Brittany Doss, Mollie Rosen and coxswain Ellen Shular placed first in flight three with a time of 8:13.17.

Notes and QuotesThe Mountaineers finished their fall racing season with eight medals ... the Varsity 8+ crews ended the season with two first-place finishes and one second-place finish, while the Varsity 4+ crews ended the season with three first-place finishes and one second-place finish...the Varsity 2+ crews ended the season with one first-place finish, two second-place finishes and two third-place finishes.

The Novice 8+ crews ended their fall season with one second-place finish and one third-place finish, while the Novice 4+ crews ended the season with one second-place finish.

This Week in Men’s SoccerThe Mountaineers hope to qualify for their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth … if WVU qualifies, the first-round game will be Thursday, Nov. 17, at a site and time to be determined.

Last Week in Men’s SoccerThe Mountaineers were idle.

Notes and QuotesWest Virginia currently has a record of 10-7-1 and comes in at No. 26 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

This Week in Women’s SoccerWest Virginia finished the 2011 season at 17-5-0, 10-1-0 in BIG EAST play … the team won the program’s fifth BIG EAST division title and third conference tournament title.

Last Week in Women’s SoccerA strong first half and early goal was enough to push Virginia Tech past ninth-ranked West Virginia, 1-0, on Nov. 12 in the first round of the NCAA Championship at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … Hokie midfielder Kelly Conheeney recorded the game’s only goal with her team-leading 11th score of the season in the 17th minute … the goal marked the first time WVU had trailed since Oct. 2 in a loss at Villanova … WVU made its adjustments and had the better of play in the second half, including a hard press at the Hokie defense in the final 25 minutes … the Mountaineers took 11 of their team’s 14 shots in the final 36 minutes … forward Frances Silva had WVU’s best scoring chance in the first half on a shot from eight yards out in the 10th minute that was denied by goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts … forward Blake Miller had WVU’s final scoring chance with under four minutes to play on a header inside the box that was denied by a diving Colpitts … Miller attempted a game-high six shots for WVU, while Conheeney finished with five tries … WVU closed with a 14-13 edge in shots, while Virginia Tech took six more corner kicks (8-2) than the Mountaineers … the teams combined for 29 fouls and five yellow cards – the first three assessed to Tech.

Notes & QuotesThe loss marked only the fourth first-round exit in 12 NCAA Championship appearances … WVU’s 12 straight NCAA tournaments mark the nation’s ninth-longest streak … the 17 wins are one shy of tying the school record for wins in a season … six seniors played their final matches for the Old Gold and Blue: Blake Miller, Meghan Lewis, Morgan Betscher, Drea Barklage, Chelsey Corroto and Erica Henderson … WVU was one of four BIG EAST squads in the NCAAs … the loss also snapped WVU’s eight-match winning streak … the Mountaineers are 12-12 all-time in NCAA tournament matches.

This Week in Swimming & DivingThe WVU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will take part in the Pitt Invitational from Nov. 18-20, at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh … Friday’s and Saturday’s sessions will start at 10 a.m., while Sunday’s competition begins at 9 a.m.

Last Week in Swimming & DivingBoth squads swam impressively in a double dual meet with BIG EAST foes Cincinnati and Villanova … the women defeated the Bearcats 191-104, while the men won 178-107 … the women took Villanova down by a score of 166-131, and the men defeated the Wildcats 190-100.

Notes and QuotesRachael Burnett led the women with three individual first-place finishes in the 200 free (1:49.90), 500 free (4:54.77) and 400 IM (4:23.17), while Danielle Smith broke a pool record in the 100 back (56.51) and won the 200 back (2:03.21) ... Taylor Camp had first-place finishes in the 200 fly (1:51.15) and 100 fly (49.36), while Bryce Bohman scored top finishes in the 100 back (50.41) and 200 back (1:51.49) … Daeton Davenport also finished with two wins for the men in the 1650 free (16:15.14) and the 500 free (4:39.45) … Richard Pokorny scored two wins in the diving well with a score of 326.60 on the 1-meter and 291.85 on the 3-meter … Haily Vande Poel took first on the 1-meter (254.14) and 3-meter (276.55) boards.

“It was an overall pretty good day for us. We still have some little areas that we need to focus on in practice for meets. Overall, it was a good meet and should set us up well for next week’s Pitt Invitational.” - coach Vic Riggs

This Week in VolleyballThe Mountaineers are idle.

Last Week in VolleyballThe Mountaineers finished BIG EAST regular-season play as it lost to USF, 3-2, in its final home match of the season … WVU’s record on the season is now 7-18 (5-9 BIG EAST) with only one match remaining in the season.

Notes and QuotesWVU finished out BIG EAST regular-season play by losing to USF 3-2 in its final home match of the season … the Mountaineers fall to 5-2 in the all-time series record with the Bulls … senior outside hitter Michelle Kopecky led WVU with 18 kills and a .298 hitting percentage … the Schaumburg, Ill., native leads the team with 241 kills, 2.80 kills per set and 29 service aces … senior setter Kari Post and senior outside hitter Kylie Armbruster each recorded double-doubles in the match against USF … Post finished with 45 assists and 11 digs, while Armbruster finished with 13 kills and 10 digs … with the 45 assists, Post moves up one spot on the all-time assists list in the WVU record book … the Yuba City, Calif., native now has 3,339 assists in her career, which places her at No. 4 … after recording 29 digs against USF, senior libero Serinna Russo moves up in the WVU record book … the Riverside, Calif., native has 503 digs, which places her at No. 3 on the Total Digs in a Season list.

This Week in WrestlingWVU heads to Annapolis, Md., to compete at the Navy Classic on Saturday, Nov. 19, another open-format tournament.

Last Week in WrestlingThe Mountaineers traveled to Washington, Pa., for the Washington & Jefferson Tournament and had eleven wrestlers place.

Notes and QuotesJunior Shane Young (125), redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (141), freshman Dominic Prezzia and redshirt sophomore Mac Mancuso (197) earned a first-place finish at the W&J Tournament … Prezzia has been impressive in both his first dual meet matches of the season as well as his first collegiate tournament, as the St. Clairsville, Ohio native is now 6-0 on the season … the Mountaineers’ impressive effort at the W&J Tournament had a potential to be even better, but coach Craig Turnbull pulled a few of his wrestlers after the opening rounds in order to avoid potential injury as they begin to prepare for the long season ahead.